Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Tired of the Crumbs

Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey apparently wants to insure that he is not elected Governor of Tennessee next year, because he has once again backpedaled on the issue of whether or not Tennesseans should elect our Supreme Court justices as the Constitution requires:

The Blountville Republican tells The Associated Press that the contested elections have been a sticking point in negotiations on changes to the way the state appoints and retains its appeals court judges.

If Ron Ramsey continues on his present path of backpedaling to the trial lawyers and the political elitists in this State, he will very quickly lose his credibility with the conservative movement-something that he has banked on in order to have any hope of being our next Governor.

It is no secret that I like Ron Ramsey (in addition to being spot on about a number of important issues, he has the added advantage of being an incredibly nice person), and as several other people have pointed out to me this week, Ramsey is still by far and away the most conservative choice we have for Governor next year. However, I can't help but feeling that we are being thrown the good crumbs in this case.

It seems as though the Lieutenant Governor is hoping that conservatives will simply be satified with the crumbs we have gotten and to Hell with the rest of it. We got the gun bills we wanted, we will get SJR 127, and we should apparently just shut up and be happy with that. The difference between those things and the matter of State judicial selection is that anyone with a brain who understands Tennessee politics knows that if bills loosening gun laws and allowing for future pro-life legislation actually make it to the floor, they pass no matter which party controls the House and Senate-because as much as the liberals hate it, a Tennessee Democrat would be a Republican in many other States in this Union.

Judicial election, as opposed to selection was the great difference maker. The Tennessee Constitution says that we are supposed to elect our judges, so until we change the Constitution, Ron Ramsey and our legislative leadership need to keep their promise to the people of Tennessee and uphold the law.

5 Comments:

"...Ramsey is still by far and away the most conservative choice we have for Governor next year."

This pretty much explains why judges will continue to be controlled by the special interests in Tennessee. By doing this, Ron gets oodles of money by the trial lawyers (both PAC and individual contributions), and yet he still has you saying that he's far and away the most conservative choice.

I disagree wholeheartedly, by the way. Those who think Ramsey is more conservative than Wamp are the tin-foil hat club that only wants to focus on his TARP vote and his ability to get re-elected in the face of his personal pledge to term limit himself. Zach can defend himself, but one vote does not a moderate make.

We'll have to disagree on this one, and we may do so for a long time. Ramsey's lies have gotten this rattlesnake mad. Perhaps mad enough to become politically engaged again...

In reading this having slept on it, I wasn't exactly clear in my writing. I certainly don't consider YOU to be one of the tin-foil hat club. I was more referring to members of the Repbulican Libertarian Caucus, who have been the most vocal about Zach Wamp.

Rob Huddleston is an idiot. Without a doubt, he has less knowledge of the legal system and it's basis than any person that allegedly holds a law degree than any person I know of.

By the way, Rob, who do you think stands up for your ability to make money practicing law? You think the Republics are out there ensuring that your clients have access to the legal system in any meaningful way? It's often said that a lawyer that represents himself has an idiot for a client - but I'll change that a little: A lawyer that votes Republic, is an idiot.

Being the "law and order" type, how do you feel about Wamp's past cocaine abuse and worthless check issues? Or will you take the hypocritical stance that most Republics take on issues such as this: "It's OK if you are a Republican."

Face it, the "conservative" movement is nothing but a bunch of hypocritical child-molesters, drug-users, closeted homosexuals, and garden variety thieves seeking power to cover up their past (and on-going) crimes.

I don't think that Rob Huddleston is capable of reading an opinion of the court. He seems to be a little dim-witted. An election can be held in any number of ways. The Tennessee Constitution does not say that judges have to be elected in a certain way - just that there has to be an election. A special Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that a retention election is a constitutional election.

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About Me

I'm a freelance political and sports writer, and former sports radio talk co-host. I am currently an Aspirant to the Permanent Diaconate of the Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee.